Mastering the art of speaking is one of the most important aspects of learning a second language. It often happens that the success of language acquisition is measured in terms of the ability to converse in the language. However, in a monolingual society, students often face difficulties in speaking in their second language in the classroom. This study tries to explore what it means to speak in the language classroom where all students have the same native language. The various methodological options available for the teaching of oral communication will be outlined. In section one, the definition of speaking is given and discussed. The ideas of Brown and Yule (1983), Richards and Rodgers (1986), and McDonough and Shaw (1993) are outlined. The relationship between transactional and interactional language functions are reviewed. Section two deals with the analysis of the speaking in monolingual society with reference to Japanese English education. The options of Bailey (1991), LoCastro (1989), Alga (1990), are stated. In section three, the ideas of McDonough and Shaw (1993) for promoting speaking skills are discussed. In section four, teachers' roles in teaching speaking skills are stated mainly through the ideas of Bresnihan and Stoops (1994). In section five, the problems of large classes are discussed. And in conclusion, the answer to these methodological options are put forward.
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